


The Song He Knows by Heart(s)

by Flimflamflummox



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Gen, Hostage Situations, Humor, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Stormcage Containment Facility, Timey-Wimey, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 22:18:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1834192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flimflamflummox/pseuds/Flimflamflummox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor trusts River Song with his life. He knows she would never hurt him. Now, how to convince her of that?</p><p>Set between Angels Take Manhattan and The Snowmen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello Sweetie

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for/references to episodes up to The Snowmen.
> 
> Oh, and if some things seem a bit off, just know that there really is a timey-wimey explanation for it. Hang in there.

River Song smiled grimly at the whooshing sound of the TARDIS. That sound said "Here comes the Doctor. Here comes that daft old man who pilots an impossible ship through space and time with its brakes left on." Over the klaxons and alarms, over the screaming, the shooting, and the general tumult of her surroundings, she focused on that bittersweet noise. She had called the Doctor, and once again he had come. He always came. He was always there when she needed him, except this time, he wasn't going to be happy about it. Not at all. Soon enough, her husband would wish to be anywhere else but by her side. But he wouldn't have a choice in the matter.

* * *

 

The Doctor rubbed his hands in anticipation, wondering what River had for him this time. He'd been sedentary for quite a while, having sworn off adventuring after suffering yet another loss. He didn't miss it, of course not. Not even a little. No sir. But...maybe he could conjure up a bit of that old spark, just for the day, just for River.  He opened the TARDIS doors to chaos, disaster, and even better, the words "Hello, sweetie." 

"River Song," he breathed happily, running to catch her in a hug. "RiverSongRiverSongRiverSong! River... _Song_." 

"Er...present," his wife chuckled, patting him awkwardly on the back. "Where are we?" 

Pulling back, the Doctor answered, "We've just finished Melody Malone." 

"Oh. Spoilers." River replied quickly. 

"Yes, of _course_ , you were pardoned by then!" the Doctor smacked himself in the face and looked around surreptitiously. 

"I get pardoned?" River asked, then quickly changed the subject. "Where are Amy and Rory?" 

The Doctor froze and answered "Spoilers," with a sniffle and a very stoic voice crack. "Why did, er, why did you call me? And how did you get out of your cell?" he gestured towards the bars of which she was on the wrong side. The OUTside. "Can't have been your usual way. I don't see any dizzy guards. You know, I quite enjoy the dizzy guards."  

"Oh, sweetie. I'm very good. Also, if you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a particularly violent prison riot," she answered. 

He glanced around again. "So we are," observed the Time Lord. "But it doesn't appear to have reached the lower levels yet, which means that's not how you got out." 

"Well, yes, they're taking over one floor at a time, but they already disabled all of the locks that would have actually been a challenge for me electronically," his wife explained. "Look, there's not much time. The guards are being forced back to the upper floors while the prisoners work their way downwards. The guards, of course, will station themselves at the top entrance, but the prisoners will have gathered food and weapons along the way and we'll have a bit of a stalemate." 

"How do you know their plans?" the Doctor asked warily. 

"Oh, my lovely naïve boy," she responded cryptically. 

The Doctor's eyes narrowed at her patronizing tone, then widened in alarm. "River, you're not a part of this, right? Tell me you're not a part of this!" 

"Oh, I very much so am," was her far too casual response. "And now, Doctor, so are you." 

"People will _die_ , River!" 

"Well, we can't have that," she chuckled sarcastically. "That's why you're here. To end this with minimum bloodshed." 

"This is _ending_ ," he seethed, "with all of you back in your cells! What has gotten into you? No...I don't have time to find out. I'm putting an end to this right now!" 

The Doctor tried to storm away, only to be held in place by a hand yanking the collar of his shirt. "What, you're going to talk them into surrendering?" River laughed. 

"Yes!" the Doctor choked. "Now let go! Under article 4,857 of the Shadow Proclamation, this is spousal abuse!" 

River's laughter increased. "Really? Spousal abuse? I'm in jail for murder, and you're threatening me with charges of spousal abuse?" 

Angrily, he yanked himself free of her grip. He was too mad to even straighten his bow tie. "Well, it's certainly grounds enough for a _divorce_!" he spat venomously. River's facial expression remained set, not changing in the slightest, yet somehow it still managed to become sad. The Doctor pressed his advantage. "That's right. Cos believe me, _sweetie_ , once I sort this mess out you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do! And I _will_ hold you accountable, believe me, you have no idea what I've just been through and it has _changed_ me, River. So don't expect that optimistic idiot because I am not the man you once knew and you are not the woman that man thought he fell in love with!" 

"You poor man," she whispered. "Oh, my Doctor, you poor, poor man." 

"Don't pity me, River Song, don't you _dare_!" he raged. "You haven't got the right!" 

Shaking her head slightly, River looked up. She stared straight into the Oncoming Storm and didn't flinch. With enough steel in her voice to endure the worst of tempests, she declared, "I make my own rights." 

The Doctor's fury blustered around them tangibly, but it didn't touch River. She was the eye of the storm. She was mouthing something to herself, perhaps a mantra, but his eyes were too blurred with tears of frustration, confusion, and a terrible, wild grief that had been repressed for far too long. He couldn't read her lips. He was physically shaking with rage, but River Song was not afraid. _Just like her mother_. Amy had once been the target of his fury and yet she'd merely smiled at him and told him what he was in her eyes. Oh, Pond...Amy Pond, who he hadn't deserved. She was so faithful; so trusting. And she had called him- 

"Very old, and very kind, and the very, very last," River mused. 

"Wha-what?" he gasped, feeling suddenly tired.  

"That's how mother described you," River said primly. "And she was somewhat right. You ARE very old." 

The Doctor tentatively felt around inside his mind, but found nothing. "Are you reading my mind?" he accused. 

"No, sweetie. I don't need to." she smugly  replied. 

The sounds of struggle had escalated considerably and then there was shouting and the Doctor realized that he was too late. He'd been so distracted by River's betrayal that he hadn't noticed the riot's rapid descent. And there they were. An entire horde of the universe's most dangerous criminals. One of them stepped forward. 

The Silurian woman strode up to River, motioning around. "No guards?" 

River grinned. "They all went up to join the fight. Left me completely alone." 

The Doctor stood frozen on the spot and watched the lizard woman. Her sharp, clipped speech and assertive walk. She reminded him of someone. Someone who'd had him at her mercy before. "Restac?" he asked uncertainly. The Silurian glared. "No, of course not," he reasoned. "She would have been your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, give or take. What's your name?" 

"Restac," she answered coldly. "I am named after my great-great-" 

"He gets it," River cut in. 

Restac nodded. "But I assure you, Doctor, that I am more bloodthirsty-" 

A human-looking male who appeared to be lugging supplies quickly rummaged through a cooler and pulled out a red bottled liquid, which he handed to her. 

"Thank you, ape," Restac continued, taking a swig from the bottle. "Much better. As I was saying, I am just as much of a warrior as she was, and I've been raised to hate you for your false promises!" 

The Doctor blinked. "39 generations later and you still hate me that much? Blimey, that's an achievement." Restac hissed and backhanded the Doctor, who stumbled back a few steps and put a hand to his cheek. "Oi, I didn't say I didn't believe you!" he glared. "You hate me, I get it, you don't have to _prove_ it!" 

Restac made to lash out again, but River interposed herself between them. "Alright, calm down, Restac. Don't kill him." 

The Doctor hid a smile. River Song was still protecting him. Maybe she had a plan. Maybe she was spinning some elaborate, River Song deception. "He's going to help us escape," she finished. 

Oh. That was very- _oh._ Yes, okay, that would be a problem.


	2. Daleks? DALEKS?!

"I hate to spoil the fun, but I'm not helping anyone escape anything," the Doctor spoke up. 

Restac pushed past River, grabbed him by the shirt collar--that was getting old fast-- and snarled.

"No, really," he babbled. "Even if I did want to help you, which I really, really don't, I mean there is absolutely no chance I am budging on this, you lot are not going anywhere, I'll see to it myself-"

Restac shook him. 

" _Anyway_ , supposing I was going to try, I really wouldn't be of much use. At all. I'm terrible at escapes. Really, I'm barely qualified to yell 'run!' at people, which hasn't actually stopped me, of course, but well...Demons Run! Remember that, River? Good old Demons Run? Well, not good, and from my perspective, not all that old, but still! Remember bad, middle-aged Demons Run? I certainly mucked that one up, didn't I? That was not a textbook escape, at all. It's a good story, actually. Have you told it yet? Restac would like it. Tell you what, I'll just pop back to the TARDIS and grab the scrapbook!"

Another shake.

"I'm just saying, I'm not the ideal candidate. Also, sorry, this is delayed, but just how many of you are there?"

River smiled. "An army's worth. But I think they'll just about fit."

The Doctor looked at her in alarm. He didn't know what was going on, but River was a child of the TARDIS. There was no way she'd let such a vile bunch of criminals on board, was there? 

Answering his unspoken question, she declared. "Everyone into my cell, quick as you like, Doctor first!"

River held the door open politely; an extreme contrast to Restac's violent shove. As he stumbled through the door, the Doctor wondered how exactly an army of thugs was going to fit into one cell. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. No sooner had he crossed the threshold than the outside perception filter faded to reveal the truth.

"Do you like what I've done with the place, sweetie?" River smirked.

The Doctor's voice was hoarse with surprise and confusion. "How...did your cell...get bigger...on the inside?"

Restac pushed past him, pulled up a wooden chair and gestured for him to sit. Recognizing the inherent threat in having an army at his back, the Doctor strolled over and took a seat. "How very polite of you, Restac," he observed diplomatically. "Offering me a seat, like a proper hostess. Next I assume you're going to take my coat?"

The Silurian didn't reply, but merely tugged off his tweed jacket and set it aside, leaving the Doctor in his white dress shirt. "See? We just _get_ each other," he said blithely.

"Search his pockets for anything that may be of use," she ordered a passing Sontaran. "Give the screwdriver to Dr. Song when you find it."

"I shall search his pockets for weapons," the Sontaran replied cheerfully.

"I said _anything of use ___, Splix!" Restac repeated.

"Exactly. _Weapons_." The Sontaran smiled gleefully and toddled off to search the jacket.  

__"Oi! Be careful with that!" the Doctor called to him. "Don't let anything snag on the lining!" He winced at the ripping sound as Splix the Sontaran tore off an entire pocket. "Oh...I suppose that's one way to go about it."_ _

__River closed the door as the last stragglers trickled in. She quickly directed various groups to different rooms and corridors. "Food, first door on the left. Weapons, third door on the right. Everyone pick a room, and try not to look at the Weeping Angels so they can move about. Angels, no zapping anybody, or we'll leave you here when we escape. Got that? That goes for all of you! Angels, no zapping! Daleks, no exterminating! Silurians, Krillitanes,  
no eating people! Slitheen, no hunting! Sycorax, no voodoo! Sontarans, no...being Sontarans! We have to work together! Oh and Silence, if there are any Silence with us, I don't even remember-" a chittering noise came from somewhere in the crowd. "Right then, Silence, try and stay in someone's sight at all times, you are quite possibly the most disorientating allies _ever!_ " _ _

__The Doctor tried to jump up from his chair, but Restac pushed down firmly on his shoulders, so all he managed was to jerk slightly forward and slam back down with such force that the chair surely would have fallen, had Restac not been standing behind it. "Daleks? Angels? Silence? Seriously, DALEKS?!" he yelled. "River, how can you possibly-"_ _

__Splix cut him off. "I have found something which glows most suspiciously. Shall I destroy it?" River marched over and grabbed the sonic screwdriver from his three fingered hand. "Very well, you may examine it. But don't trust it! Glowing things are only trustworthy if they are bombs. You can always trust a bomb to explode, but who knows what this thing might do?"_ _

__River rolled her eyes. "You can't always rely on a bomb to explode, Splix. What if it's faulty?"_ _

__"Then it has failed its assigned task and must be blown up with another bomb!" Splix raged._ _

__"Can we get back to the fact that there are Daleks in here?" the Doctor yelled._ _

__The Sontaran grinned. "Quite right. I'm sure _they_ will have some bombs. I'll go check!"_ _

__"River! Daleks! How could you?" the Doctor repeated._ _

__"I know, they're not the best company, but we're all temporary allies until we get out of this prison," she replied nonchalantly, fiddling with the sonic._ _

__Splix barreled back into the room and addressed River. "Sir, I have found a room full of weapons. Suggest we confiscate them."_ _

__"That's the weapons storage, Splix. And do try to remember that I am a woman."_ _

__"I shall do as you command! I shall not fail you, sir!" Splix dashed out again._ _

__River rolled her eyes. "Sontarans!"_ _

__"They are a primitive race," Restac sniffed._ _

__"River Song!" the Doctor hollered. "If you're going to hold me here against my will, then the least you can do is pay attention to me!"_ _

__River merely pointed the screwdriver at him. The familiar whirring sound was the last thing he heard as his consciousness slipped away._ _


	3. Death to Plunger Sympathizers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how grim the situation, one should never pass up the opportunity to listen to a Dalek and a Sontaran in casual conversation.

_Time is in flux._

"Amelia!" the Doctor screamed, jolting awake.

"Just me, I'm afraid," River answered. She put the screwdriver, which had been pointed at him, in her pocket. The Doctor sensed that he had been asleep for around 37 minutes. "Stand up."

"Why?" he asked petulantly.

"Because I asked politely. Also, I have a gun." 

The Doctor saw that she had changed into what he considered her "action clothes," complete with that ray gun that she was so fond of randomly whipping out. It was currently holstered, but she couldn't go five minutes without waving it about, and she could draw faster than he could blink-- a fact which had been highly beneficial during a few weeping angel encounters. Unfortunately, it wasn't such a nice trait when _he_ was the one on the business end of the gun. He did as she commanded.

"Turn around," she ordered next.

Complying, the Doctor remarked, "Oh, I see where this is going. It's the handcuffs, isn't it? You love those handcuffs."

River secured his hands behind his back with a click. "Quite so." The Doctor immediately tested the strength of the handcuffs. Not only were they too tough to break, they were almost immobilizing. His hands were forced into the small of his back and it was impossible to move them beyond small twists of the wrists. River watched his struggles with amusement. "They're Stormcage handcuffs, sweetie. Made for the most dangerous prisoners in the universe. You're not getting them off by yourself."

"Maybe not by force, but there are plenty more ways to get them off," he retorted distractedly. "For example, I've yet to ask them nicely."

River chuckled. "Well, tell me how that works out for you."

Restac pulled a black bag down over his head and cinched it tightly around his neck.

"Great," came the Doctor's muffled voice. "There goes the quiff. I'm going to have bag-hair now." 

"Let's go," River commanded.

The Doctor was shoved blindly out of the cell and marched in some unknown direction. Quietly, he tried to take stock of who it was he was walking with. He could hear River and Restac up front, murmuring to each other. Splix was directly in front of the Doctor, muttering angrily about toilet plungers. The Doctor assumed that something must have happened, during the 37 minutes he was unconscious, for toilet plungers to incur the level of wrath that Splix was directing at them. Splix's tirade was accompanied by a whirring sound which definitely wasn't a Dalek.

Really.

It wasn't.

Okay, it was a Dalek. The Doctor would worry about that in a mo.

Finally, there were the two behind him, guiding his movements. They themselves moved furtively, fluidly, without speaking or making a sound. They seemed humanoid, and the Doctor assumed that they were antisocial humans with some form of mercenary experience. To ground himself, the Doctor focused on the echoes of his own footsteps. Soon, however, he found that no matter how grim the situation, one should never pass up the opportunity to listen to a Dalek and a Sontaran in casual conversation.

"-and only THEN would they be given a momentary reprieve before being obliterated in the name of the Sontaran Empire!" Splix bellowed.

The Dalek replied in a typical garbled voice. "They are crude ee-m-ee-tations of our own weapons systems. Used for the lowly duty of cleaning huuuuman waste! Toilet plungers are an affront to the Daleks!"

"I say that from now on, anyone caught harboring a toilet plunger should be sentenced to die!" Splix enthused.

"Daleks will exterminate them! Death to the Plunger Sympathizers! Deeeeeeaaaaath!" the Dalek agreed.

"Do you think  _he_ has a toilet plunger?" the Sontaran questioned, no doubt gesturing back at the Doctor.

"The Doctor has often disassembled Daleks and taken our plungers as troooophies!" the Dalek raged.

The Doctor's amusement turned sour in an instant. This Dalek _remembered_ him. But that was impossible. He had been erased from the Daleks' data banks. It couldn't know him. It  _couldn't!_

"Do you suppose," Splix whispered conspiratorially, "That he invented the toilet plunger?"

"THE DOCTOR CREATED THE TOILET PLUNGER TO MOCK THE DALEKS!" it raged. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINAAAAAAATE!" 

The Doctor flinched back in alarm, but was pushed onwards by the people behind him. From up front, River yelled, "If you two can't keep from winding each other up, I'll have to separate you!"

"We will do as you say for now, woooman!" the Dalek replied. "But once our alliance has ended, you will be exterminated!" 

Splix agreed. "Dalek scum, I believe this could be the beginning of a short and violent friendship."

"While inferior, the Sontarans are quite advanced when it come to haaaaate. Your species will be one of the last to be exterminated," the Dalek answered.

"I like you, Dalek. Yours will be a quick death."

The Doctor could just hear River's exasperated sigh. "Men!" 

"Elevaaaate!" the Dalek exclaimed.

The Doctor had no time to process what was happening before he was hauled up the stairs by the two behind him, tripping and yelping. 

"What are you doing back there?" River demanded. 

The two froze instantly. What was wrong? Had something happened? Were they just frightened of River? They weren't even breathing. What had frightened two hardened criminals so quickly and effectively?

After a short silence, River continued. "Oh, I see. Do be a bit more careful, you two. We don't want to break our most valuable bargaining chip. Alright, everyone, we're almost there. Eyes front."

Movement resumed.

After a few minutes of climbing, Restac commented, "We need to restore power to the lifts."

"Yes we do," River agreed immediately.

Splix spoke up breathlessly. "This is why...your races...are weak. Sontarans...do not need...lifts. We are creatures of...unimaginable stamina." He sucked in a deep breath.

"Sensors indicate that it is you who is the most taxed by this physical exertion," the Dalek supplied.

"Never, Dalek!" Splix insisted. "Sontar...(gasp)...HA!" 

Finally, they reached what must have been one of the top levels and the Doctor was conducted through a series of turns. They stopped inside a small space. The Doctor sensed that it would just barely fit the seven of them. From the front end of the room, a chair scraped back and someone took a seat. His two guides led him further into the room and held him still with a tight, two-handed grip on each arm. 

"Dalek," River ordered from the chair, "Go tell them we are ready. Restac, Splix, stand guard at the door." From the way her voice was muffled, the Doctor guessed that she was facing away from him and the door. But that made no sense. Why would she talk to a wall?

44 seconds later, "Dalek" returned and reported his success to River. He then whirred back to the doorway.

The Doctor's guides turned guards, whose grips seemed almost inhumanly tight as it was, held him tighter. They weren't actually applying any more pressure than before, but their hands felt harder, and more unyielding. Like...stone? No. _No!_ He had just been blinded and then led around by Weeping Angels. Weeping Angels who were still holding him. He shuddered violently into their cold stone embrace, allowing himself a just moment of pure, unadulterated terror. But only a moment.

The rational part of his mind-- honestly, it's in there somewhere-- knew that if the Angels had wanted to feed on him, they would have done so already. He had often wondered, actually, how an Angel would feel consuming his time energy. After all, he was a very complicated space-time event. Was that a desirable thing? He has theorized in the past that to Weeping Angels he was somewhat like a particularly indulgent dessert. Delicious going down, but bound to give them indigestion. Now it occurred to him that he was probably more like a vegetable; difficult to choke down, but very, very healthy. He wasn't sure which he preferred. Probably the first. He didn't want to be a vegetable.

His rational side, which was definitely getting a huge workout at the time, pulled him off of this tangent to focus on another important detail. The others had been careful not to observe the Angels, giving them autonomy. River was facing away from them, and the other three were presumably standing outside the door. The Doctor himself was blinded, and the Angels weren't stupid enough to look at each other. But they were frozen. 

Which meant there was someone else with them now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little iffy on the tone of this story. I'm trying to hit that fine line between humor and drama that really characterizes Doctor Who, and I hope it's not leaning too far in one direction or the other. I would appreciate hearing what you guys have to say on the matter. Thanks for reading!


	4. Getting Lucky

There was a soft click.

"Dr. Song," a man's voice greeted curtly, floating down from the ceiling.

Finally, the Doctor realized where he was. It was a visiting area: two halves of a room separated by a force field so strong that not even sound could penetrate it, hence the need for intercoms. He was on the prisoners' side along with River, Restac, Dalek, Splix, and the Angels. This man was on the other side of the force field, which meant--

"Your resources are limited. Do not think you'll wait us out because, I assure you, you will lose."

Excellent! They were speaking with the warden. No, no, wait...not excellent. Very not excellent. Knowing River, this meeting wasn't a chance for a quick resolution; it was just step two of whatever plan she had in place.

"Ah, the waiting game!" River announced wryly. "Did you really think that was the plan? To wait? I'm River Song, dear. And I don't wait for what I want."

The Doctor was tempted to remind her that she had waited for him, but decided against it.

"What is your plan, then?" asked a young, female voice. The Doctor couldn't be sure, but he thought he recognized it from somewhere.

"Lieutenant, you will remember your place!" barked the warden.

"It's right here, by the intercom," he lady said teasingly. "Hallo, escaped convicts, and shame on you!"

River laughed. "Her, I like."

There was a scuffling sound and then the warden spoke again. "We aren't your friends, Dr. Song. What do you want?" 

In the background, the lieutenant stage-whispered to the warden, "Ask who that man is."

"Stand down, lieutenant," the warden grumbled back.

"Your lieutenant is asking the right sort of questions, you know." River's voice was closer now, and the Doctor jumped, but was held firmly in place by the Weeping Angels. Without any more preamble, River whipped the bag off of his head, and he winced against the bright, phosphorescent light of the meeting room.

"Is he helping you?" the warden's voice asked.

"Does it bloody look like it?" the Doctor snapped, blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust his eyesight.

The lieutenant laughed. "He's got you there, sir!"

"Lieutenant," the man seethed, "Why don't you go wait outside?"

"Whatever," she answered snidely. "You'll need me soon enough."

The Doctor's vision finally adjusted in time to see a door on the other end of the room slam closed. He refocused his attention on the warden: A middle-aged man with black hair which was graying at the temples. He had black stubble on his  jaw like he hadn't shaved for a day or so, and shifty brown eyes which flickered around his surroundings, seemingly never stopping for even a moment's rest. He wore some sort of black and gray combat suit and held a comically large gun. River had her back to the man, studying the Doctor's face. When she saw him notice the gun, she mouthed, "Overcompensating?" and the Doctor choked back a laugh. 

The warden spoke again. "Dr. Song, who is that man?"

"That's exactly who you think it is," River grinned. "That's the Doctor."

The warden began to say something, then snapped, "Lieutenant! No listening in!" He poked his head about the door and had a brief whispered conversation with someone. Finally, he closed the door and refocussed on River, looking extremely flustered. "Dr. Song, do you realize the possible consequences of what you've set in motion?"

"All too well," River laughed. 

Suddenly, the Doctor realized why River needed him. "Oh! Oh! I am so dull! It is just ridiculously sad how dull I am!" He banged his head repeatedly against one of the Weeping Angels. "Ow."

"Sir, please calm down. We'll get you out of this," the man announced firmly.

The Doctor glanced sadly over at River. "Good on you, mate. But I think I'm a bit beyond your help." A single tear finally dropped as it hit him: _River Song is rewriting our whole timeline. And not for the better._  

\-----

"Whatever. You'll need me soon enough." 

The lieutenant growled in frustration and slammed the door shut. Stupid warden with his stupid inferiority complex. Ever since she'd been transferred to Stormcage, the man had had it out for her. A high ranking officer who was a girl barely past her 20s? He simply couldn't handle it.

"I'm Edgar the warden, and I have mother issues," she said in a mocking voice.

Whatever. If she pressed her ear to the door, she could just barely make out what was being said.

 "That's the Doctor," River Song's voice filtered through. 

Before she could stop herself, the lieutenant gasped loudly.

"Lieutenant!" Edgar hollered. "No listening in!"

The door opened and he popped his head through. "Listen, young lady, you may have been assigned this position by the higher-ups, but I still rank above you. I can't fire you directly, but I can sure as hell have you written up for insubordination! Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," she responded through gritted teeth. "I'll leave you to it." Without waiting for a response, she pivoted and marched down the long corridor leading to the stairs for the upper half of the prison.

She assumed that she was going back up to join with the group of officers and guards who were stationed in the lobby. They were purposefully setting up a camp around the prison's single entrance and exit so that they had plenty of backup immediately on hand if the prisoners tried to make a rush for the exit. 

Instead of their camp, however, she found herself wandering into the now-deserted communications office. She sat down at the desk and tried to sort out her frenzied thoughts. Her whole life, she had wandered aimlessly, not really bothering to find a purpose in life, feeling almost as if she just had to wait for it to find her.

And it did. She had never felt so strongly about anything before. As soon as she heard the word "Doctor," it had slammed into her, almost like jolting awake after a nightmare.

_I have to save him._

She knew, somehow she just knew, that her whole life had been leading to this moment.

_Something put me here. I don't know what or how or when or why, but I know this: I was born to save the Doctor._

_Alright._

She stood and made her way to the large screen at the front of the room. It was currently displaying the words "Emergency: Code Red" and should technically be locked on that screen until the "all clear" signal. It wasn't a real concern, of course. She was fabulous with computers.

The lieutenant scanned the large control panel in front of her and sprang into action turning dials, pulling levers, flipping switches, and pushing buttons. Soon enough, the screen went back to its default setting. The screen now said "Lexicon of Universal Communications," which was the name of the system. Personally, the lieutenant called it Lucky, because the acronym LUC sounded like the old Earth word "luck," meaning good fortune.

A message flashed across the screen next. "Warning: Hostile Actions Averted. Category: Unauthorized File Removal."

She frowned. The security system she had installed in Stormcage's computers was unparalleled; it was what had gotten her promoted at such a young age. The "backlash" protocol in her program had shut down the hack attempt, but it still gave her a warning. She had programmed her system to bring up a warning if anything ever actually penetrated past its first layer of security. The warning had never actually been displayed before. Looking into the incident more, she was equal parts excited and angry to see that the hostile program had gotten past the first three layers of security before it was shut down. There were only two more layers in the way of all of Stormcage's classified files. Whoever created the hostile program was very, very good.

She entered "Trace: intent" and laughed out loud. The program had been targeting all the files containing information on The Doctor, like the old man was going back and trying to tidy up after himself.

Suddenly, the virus switched from "neutralized" to "active." She waited, but it didn't go after the files again. Instead, it pulled up a string of digits and time coordinates which appeared to be 21st century Earth. A connection was established and a voice said, "Captain Jack Harkness! I'm kind of in an emergency situation right now, so unless this has to do with the Doctor, you need to call me back." He was barely audible through the gunfire and screaming. "Ianto!" he called, apparently yelling at someone nearby, "Leave the Tums! Just run!"*

The lieutenant quickly fumbled with the microphone and shouted, "Wait! It does have to do with the Doctor! He's in trouble!"

Jack was silent for a moment. Then the man began barking orders. "Gwen, try and hold them off with the macaroni catapults! Ianto, keep distributing roller   
skates! I need to get my vortex manipulator!"

"What is going  _on_ over there?" she asked. 

"It's a long story, miss...?"

"Oswin," she filled in. "Lieutenant Clara Oswin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yes, I actually do know in my head exactly what is going on with Jack. I'm not sure yet how much of his little problem will make it into the story.


	5. Knowing Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wah :'(

In a steady, practiced voice, the warden said, "Dr. Song, as you should know, it is our policy not to negotiate with criminals." He paused.

"But?" River pressed.

"But this is a very unique circumstance. I believe, at least in the short term, that I am authorized to offer you certain arrangements."

"What?" the Doctor yelped indignantly. "Two seconds ago, you had a policy! You can't give in that quickly!"

"Sir," the warden answered calmly, "This situation is much more delicate than you realize."

"What, because my death is a fixed point in time?" the Doctor asked, "Or because River Song is in prison for killing me, so if she kills me while in prison she creates a paradox?"

"How can you know your own future?" the man snapped.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say, "Because it's actually my past, I faked my death, and River's in prison to keep up the illusion," but in the time it took him to say "because," he had thought of 17 and a half reasons why it was a bad idea to tell the truth. 

"Because I'm the Doctor," he answered instead. 

He had to hand it to River; she was clever. She had the warden convinced that his death would result in a paradox, and he couldn't tell the man the truth without possibly causing a paradox himself. 

"Well," the man recovered, "I'm sure you of all people will understand that we can't risk damage to a fixed point in time on top of a paradox. The situation is really quite unique."

"Most situations involving me are unique," River correctly informed him.

"Her hair is literally a fixed point in time," the Doctor added.

"Do you remember the day I tried to straighten it-" 

"-and we had to stop half the universe from collapsing in on itself? Yes, I remember that," he finished.

"You destroyed the straightener," River reminisced, "You said it constituted a threat to the entire universe."

"It  _did_ constitute a threat to the entire universe!" he insisted.

"Only half of it," she pointed out slyly, "And what a man like you can't possibly understand is the difficulty dealing with hair like this! The first time a girl tries a new hairstyle, it is bound to be an unmitigated disaster."

"I do so understand! This hair isn't the easiest to maintain you know! And remember what my last self had on his head?" 

"Now  _that_ was hair!" she agreed. 

The warden squinted suspiciously. "You two seem to be getting along awfully well."

"No, I'm totally here against my will," the Doctor established.

"How do I know that you're not working together?" the man challenged.

"What, you think I called her up and said 'I think you've done enough time for my future murder, why don't you blindfold me, I'll link arms with some Weeping Angels, and we'll all just skip out of here'?" the Doctor asked incredulously.

"I don't pretend to understand how the criminal brain works," he answered with a definite air of superiority.

"Oi, I'm the  _victim_ here!" the Doctor reminded him.

River smiled at the warden in a way that made the Doctor gulp. "Well, dear, we can't have him doubting your integrity, can we?"

"Umm, I'm not sure what...does it actually matter how I answer that question?" he stammered, fidgeting nervously. 

"Not at all, sweetie."

He took a deep breath, sensing some sort  of impending trouble. "Then if it's all the same to you, I think I'll just skip past the part where I answer."

"Certainly," she grinned, and he was oddly reminded of his ninth self. It was the grin he'd used to mask his anger and sorrow. It was not a good grin at all.

River punched him in the face. 

The Doctor's head snapped to the side, banging against stone. "Ah! Oh, really, ow! You take after your father, you know that?"

The warden went to say something, but River wasn't done. She gave him another vicious punch, an elbow to the throat, a knee to the gut, an uppercut under the jaw, until he lost track of her movements and relied on the pain to tell him where he was hit. 

Finally, she stopped, panting.

"Dr. Song, you've made your point!" the warden cried.

"Maybe to _you,_ " was her cryptic response.

"Hey, great job...River," the Doctor rasped. "You...convinced him...I'll admit that was highly...efficient."

She grabbed him by the hair, and, ignoring the warden's protests, slammed the Doctor's head back into the stone Angels four times. 

Wincing, the Doctor said, "A rhythm of four? Really? That's just not funny!"

River rolled her eyes and pulled out the sonic, once more fiddling with the settings. 

"Oh, so you're reminding me of the Master with the four-beat thing, and now you're going to use the screwdriver on me? Don't you know anything original?" he snarled, aware that he looked like a cornered wild animal, but not finding it in himself to care. Kicking, yelling, and really letting himself go, he spat, "This is getting old! River, stop right now or I will  _never_ forgive you for this!"

"Good to know I'm on the right track," she mused. And then-

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

"Riveeerrrrr!" he screamed without thinking.

"Yes?" she asked, clicking off the screwdriver.

"Why-why are you doing this? What-"

"You know exactly why I'm doing this," she pressed. She lifted the screwdriver again and the Doctor flinched backwards, but recovered enough to give her a defiant glare.

River looked around the empty room pointedly. "Tell me, Doctor, just who do you think you're being brave for?" 

This time, when the Doctor screamed, it was, "Amyyyyy!"

"She's not here!" River replied viciously, turning up the settings on the screwdriver.

The Doctor mouthed more names.

Rory.

Donna. 

Martha. 

Sarah Jane.

Jack.

If his eyes hadn't been screwed shut, he would have seen that River was mouthing something as well, her unoccupied hand clenched tightly.

"Rose!" the Doctor bellowed suddenly. "Roooooose help!"

He didn't know where he was, who was hurting him, but he knew that Rose would stop them. 

No, Rose was gone. Was that why he hurt so badly? 

Someone had to be with him, he always had someone with him.

Desperately, he screamed, "River!" and that seemed right. 

The pain ended. Through the ringing in his ears, he could hear a man yelling. The man, the...warden. Of course.

He opened his eyes to a sadistic, terrifying stranger with the face of River Song.

"Who are you?" he gasped.

"River Song. Always have been."

"You can't be River Song," he persisted. "River would never hurt me."

"Wouldn't I?" The screwdriver pointed at him again and the Doctor broke down.

Tears fell in great cascades, and he whispered, "No! River please, no! Please. I'm so alone. Please just stop this."

She put the sonic away and the Doctor went limp with relief, still sobbing quietly.

The warden, for his part, looked highly disturbed. To watch the man of legend, the Oncoming Storm, the Last of the Time Lords reduced to this state...it was upsetting, and he didn't even know the guy.

**

"Nice to meet you, Clara Oswin!" Jack gasped as he sprinted to the Torchwood base. "So, when you say the Doctor's in trouble, is this my Doctor?"

"Your...Doctor?" the voice on the phone asked.

"You know," he clarified, dodging a gob of llama spit, "What regeneration is he on?"

"Umm, hold on, I'll check the database."

"Yikes!" Jack shouted, desperately avoiding Frank the Sentient Bowling Ball. "Watch where you're rolling!"

"Eleventh," Clara's voice announced.

"Really?" Jack asked. "What's he like? Aw no, not the bubbles!"

He gasped awake to Clara's frantic yells.

"Captain! CAPTAIN!"

"Sorry, lieutenant, I didn't mean to worry you," he assured her. 

"What happened?" she laughed nervously.

"I died, but I'm fine now," Jack replied distractedly as he burst into the base.

"You said, 'the bubbles'?" she questioned.

"Yeah, that's what killed me. Sort of. It's all very transdimentional." 

She was quiet.

"I have a weird life," he offered. "A weird, long life."

He fished out the vortex manipulator. "Do you have another signal you could open so I can get a better lock on your time coordinates?"

"Do you have a viewing screen of some sort?" she replied.

"Yeah," Jack said, flicking it on. "So tell me what's happening."

"Rerouting the video feed from the Doctor's current location," she informed him smugly. "Two birds and all that."

Jack chuckled. He liked this girl.

When the video came up, the captain's smile went back into hiding.

Assessing the situation, Jack used his honed skills to deduce that the man who was babbling something about the Master had to be the Doctor. He looked like a middle schooler! Well, not really, but he had a very boyish face.

"The woman is Dr. River Song, a dangerous prisoner, and the man on the other side of the force field is Edgar. He's the warden." Clara explained over the phone. 

The vortex manipulator was still locking on to the signal, so Jack turned his attention back to the video.

The man who was the Doctor screamed, and Jack was suddenly very angry, because he knew beyond a doubt that this was his Doctor now, just like the other two. And that scream was just heartbreakingly familiar. It was a different voice, but somehow the scream sounded exactly the same as the ones he'd heard aboard the Valiant. More than just hurt and fear. Betrayal.

"Oh, the poor man," Clara whispered, sounding on the verge of tears. "He's just a lad, he's nothing like I'd heard."

"He's hardly a 'lad,'" Jack answered bitterly. "Are you disappointed? The Doctor, big damn hero, and look at him now, right? Well, let me tell you something-"

"He's better," she clarified. "He's better."

"Damn right," he snapped.

In the video, River Song said, "Tell me, Doctor, just who do you think you're being brave for?"

She turned on what must have been a modified sonic screwdriver, and the Doctor screamed, "Amyyyyy!"

"Who's Amy?"Jack asked.

"I don't know," Clara told him.

Jack felt his heart break when the Doctor mouthed his name. 

"That's right, Doctor," he said with a hand to the screen. "Me. Be brave for me."

Then the Doctor was screaming Rose's name, and Jack smiled the most bittersweet smile of his life. Of course the Doctor still loves Rose. Always, through all of his lives. Completely and totally. Yep, he's still Jack's Doctor.

Then he screamed River's name, and Jack just knew that he loved her as well. 

"Poor Doctor, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" he muttered.

The vortex manipulator's display flashed Clara's time coordinates, but before Jack could enter the activation code, he heard the Doctor insist, "River would never hurt me," and he wanted to kill the woman who would betray the Doctor's trust this way.

Jack wanted to scream when she pointed the screwdriver again, but he stayed quiet to hear the Doctor's whisper.

"No! River, please, no! Please. I'm so alone. Please just stop this."

"Doctor, you will never be alone," Jack addressed the screen. "Never. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and I will stalk you to the end of the damned universe. In fact, I already have. Don't you dare lose hope, you bastard." 

He entered the code.


	6. Far Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) This story is not Clara/Jack, but they are both very flirty, so put them together and things escalate quickly. Feel free to interpret their interactions as you like.
> 
> 2) WARNING: This chapter involves River being physically affectionate with an uncooperative Doctor. It's not long or terribly inappropriate, but it's worth a mention. Also, such behavior will most likely continue, but only in small ways. I didn't want to put a tag in for it, because it's not all that bad, especially given the circumstances, and I didn't want to give the wrong idea about what type of fic this is. If anyone thinks I should put in a tag, please let me know exactly what tag and why, and if it makes sense I will do so.

_Wrong. Something is wrong. Time is wrong._  

River's head snapped up. "What was that? What did you do?"

"Dr. Song, you need to calm down!" the warden insisted, probably not for the first time.

"No, you did something," River growled. "What did you  _do?"_  

"I honestly- I have no idea what you're talking about!" he insisted, hands out, trying to placate her. River knew how she must look. She must look absolutely mad.

"I felt it," she said urgently, "I know what I felt!"

In a patronizing tone, the man said, "Tell me what you felt, River. Maybe I can help you."

"A speed bump," the Doctor announced to the floor. He refused, or perhaps was unable, to look at her.

"Pardon?" the warden asked with a pitying gaze.

The Doctor finally looked up. "It's the jolt when you miss a step on a staircase, the shock when someone gives you tea and you take a sip only to realize that it's coffee, the uncertainty when someone is crying and you can't make it better, the deja vu when you visit your childhood home...the realization someone you shared everything with has drifted away from you, and your best friend is a total stranger."

The warden looked lost, but River bit her lip because he was right, he was exactly right. That was the feeling. 

"It's a speed bump in time," the Doctor continued. "A warning that the universe has been put on a collision course with itself and is racing towards its own destruction. And guess whose fault it is?"

River took an elaborate bow. "I think that's an excellent note on which to end this," she addressed the warden. "You have one day to contact your superiors and make any necessary arrangements. When we meet here tomorrow, I will be expecting some progress. And the Doctor will be under heavy guard, so spare yourselves the embarrassment of a pathetic rescue attempt."

The warden was at a loss for words. Finally, he nodded stiffly. "I trust that no harm will come to this man in the interim?"

"Oh, nothing permanent." She winked at him knowingly.

"Dr. Song, as important as it is to prevent a paradox, do not think I have lost my regard for the rights of the innocent. I am a servant of justice, and if you harm this man without good cause, I will personally see to it that your demands are never realised. As for you, sir, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

River found herself reassessing the man. He was cocky and ignorant, but also a good man trying to do the right thing.

"Thank you, warden," the Doctor replied genuinely.

"Please, Doctor," he said softly, "I'm not much of a warden right now. Call me Edgar."

"Edgar," the Doctor tested, then said, "Edgar, I appreciate your hard work. And that lieutenant of yours, she's no slacker either. I think you ought to give her a chance."

Edgar nodded again, pivoted awkwardly, and left the room.  
   
As soon as they were alone, the Doctor stiffened, eyeing River warily. He kept his eyes trained on hers, and his breaths came just slightly quicker; a human would probably be unable to detect the change.

She took a step toward him, and though he didn't flinch this time, he did grind down on his feet, like he was getting solid footing in case he had to run. Which, of course, he couldn't. Trying not to seem as rushed as she felt, she tilted her head and studied him. He licked his lips and opened his mouth partway, unsure whether he should speak. He refused to break eye contact, which showed the true depth of his discomfort. As she had learned through incessant flirting, the more he kept eye contact, the more uncertain he was. He still thought he could cover it up. Bless.

Gently, even tenderly, she brushed the quiff from where it had fallen across his eye and used her thumbs to wipe the residual wetness from his cheeks. His muscles twitched under her touch, but he held his ground and said through clenched teeth, "Don't."

She cupped his cheek and tilted his chin down until his forehead came in contact with hers. He couldn't hide his thoughts in this position, might not even try.

 _Please don't touch me. Stop looking at me like you love me, stop touching me like you know me. I don't know you. I don't know you and I hate how much you know me so just please, please stop touching me!_  

With a gasp, she broke contact and looked away. The Doctor gave her a baleful stare, one that said quite clearly that he knew he had exposed his weakness but in doing so he had touched on hers and he didn't regret it for a second. 

River reminded herself that she shouldn't care how he felt about her actions. And so, she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and sealed off his glare with the black cloth of the hood. 

As she turned around, she heard the Angels shift behind her. The Doctor gave a quick gasp at the sudden movement, and she barely resisted looking back at him. Instead, she strode to the doorway where Dalek, Restac, and Splix waited. 

"The negotiations are under way," she announced.

Splix grinned manically. "So  _now_ we can attack them?"

"Splix, do you know what 'negotiation' means?"

"A fight to the death?" 

River covered her eyes with her hand and took a deep breath. "I'll explain it later. For now, let's get back to the cell. How did my dear husband used to put it? Ah, yes. 'Allons-y!'"

The Doctor grumbled, and they began their descent.

**

"Hello again," Clara smiled at the handsome man who had materialized beside her in the darkened room. 

Well, that was something that she wouldn't mind happening more often.

"Hello yourself," he said flirtatiously, then caught himself. "Right, sorry. Could you pull up that video again?"

She gave him a mock salute. "Yes, Captain!"

"Is now really the time for jokes?" Jack frowned.

"Now is the perfect time for jokes. Jokes keep you sane." She whirled around and fiddled with a console, and the video popped up on a large screen. "Just as long as you don't completely disregard the insanity that surrounds you."

"The Doctor would like you," he laughed.

"I was kind of hoping _you_ liked me."

Jack winked. "As soon as the Doctor's safe I'll show you just how much I like you."

Clara grinned. "As if I needed extra motivation."

"Done flirting now?" Jack asked.

"I'll try," she said with a fake pout.

"Me too," Jack muttered and she laughed.

Clara gestured at the paused video. "What do you want to see?"

"Go back to when the Doctor is mouthing names."

Clara rewound the footage. "Don't go getting all choked up on me now," she warned, remembering that one of the names had been 'Jack'. 

Jack shook his head. "No, see?" He pointed at Dr. Song.

"She's saying something!" Clara realised excitedly. Typing quickly, Clara zoomed in on River and put the video on a loop, watching her form words on repeat. "Can you read lips?" she asked Jack.

"It's a weird angle," he began, "But she definitely repeats the same sentence three times."

Clara studied the video. "Watch. She's saying something formulaic, maybe a prayer? Look at the word she keeps going back to."

Jack nodded, watching. "Probably separating different ideas."

"The first two are the same length," Clara observed. "The third is longer."

"I think...the word is 'so,'" Jack decided cautiously.

"That fits!" she agreed. "It goes 'so something, so something, so...very, very something'."

"But what are the 'somethings'?" he demanded.

"We're not going to be able to read the first two, but the on the third 'something,' she looks up a little," Clara noticed. "I might be able to get that last word if I tweak the facial recognition program. It's designed to pick up on a face from all different angles and expressions, so maybe I can change it to do the same with words."

"And how long will that take you?" Jack asked wryly.

Already working, Clara asked, "How long will it take you to answer this question?"

"What question?" 

"Done," she smiled.

"Oh, I see. Okay, I'll give you that one. That was impressive," he admitted.

"And the word is...what, no drumroll?"

"I don't like drums," Jack informed her.

"Okay? Anyway, it's...oh, it's two words! 'Far away.'"

"'So something, so something, so very, very far away,'" Jack pieced together the sentence.

"Well that's no good!" Clara grumped. "We already know that she's trying to escape."

"I wish I knew the other two words," he murmured.

"I can run the software, but it'll take a lot longer to figure that out. I doubt it's worth it." 

"Do it anyway," he urged. "We can work on something else in the meantime."

**

Back outside her cell, River commanded, "Take him in. There's something I need to check." 

Restac went in first and announced, "Angels coming through, eyes closed everyone!" 

The group blindly shuffled into the cell, and River turned away, waiting until she heard the door close. Without waiting another moment, she dashed through the TARDIS doors and put her head down on the console, gasping raggedly and barely holding back tears. Just the touch of the TARDIS was soothing, and when she finally calmed down enough to raise her head, she was met with a hologram of the Doctor.

"Hello River," he smiled fondly. "If you're watching this, that means you're probably losing your nerve. I don't blame you. I wish with both my hearts that I didn't have to ask this of you. I know I wouldn't be strong enough to do it if our positions were reversed. But, as my friend Winston is fond of saying, you'll have to 'keep buggering on.' I have something to show you. I'm sorry that I held out on you River, but I wanted to save this for when you needed it. So, without further ado, here's a message from my future."

The image flickered and was replaced with something different. River staggered backwards and released a strangled cry. "No!"


	7. Chad Gadya

"So...what now?" Clara asked.

"I don't know!" Jack snapped, " _You_ called  _me!"_

"That's something!" Clara realized.

"What?"

"The virus, there was a virus in the system set to erase all the files on the Doctor, but then it also called you!" Clara explained excitedly.

Jack wrinkled his nose. "I got called by a virus? How did a virus even get my number?" 

"I don't know. But I might be able to find out." Once more, the young lieutenant began messing around on a control panel.

"How?" Jack wondered.

"Well, if it was a roving server, then it has active camouflage, so if I can just wiggle into the systems, I can find what form it takes. The data chip will be heavily guarded, so I can't find out its location directly, but if I check what programs can't be run, I should be able to map its capabilities. Then I can divine its shape and scan that into the map systems, in order to find the highest concentration of like objects and locate its epicenter, thereby finding where the virus originated without tripping any alarms, which should allow us to sneak up and access the chip manually," she babbled distractedly while she worked.

"How?" Jack asked again.

Clara sighed. "Magic."

"Awesome."

Clara froze, staring at a shape on the screen.

"You have the shape?" he asked.

"I have the shape," she confirmed.

"So scan the epicenter into the alarm concentration or whatever!" he urged.

"Don't need to," she replied, staring at the screen with wonder and awe, sort of like Jack did every time he saw himself in a mirror.

"Why not?" he asked in annoyance.

"Because it's shaped like a..." she trailed off.

"Like a what?"

She tried again. "Shaped like a p- like a p-"

"Like a potato? Like a poodle? Like a preadolescent Elvis?" Jack pushed. "Spit it out!"

"Like a police box," she whispered. 

"Oh. A police box," Jack repeated, dumbstruck. "Umm, I need to sit down." 

**

The new hologram of the Doctor whispered in a weak, hoarse voice. "River! It's alright! It's okay! I'm gonna give you a moment to calm down, because I need you to listen to me."

River simply gaped at him. He looked so wrong. His hair was longer, he was pale and sweating, leaning on the TARDIS console for support. Instead of the tweed jacket and ridiculous bow tie, he wore a grey Stormcage prisoner's outfit. River never thought she'd see him wear anything more horrendous than the fez, but there it was. There were bags under his eyes, which were squinted in pain. His face, that young, handsome face, was cut and bruised along with his bare feet and the exposed part of his right arm. The left was cradled against his stomach in a makeshift bandage. But none of that was the worst part. 

The worst part was his body language. Shoulders hunched, feet close together. His hands were shaking slightly, and it looked as though 75% of his weight was being held up by the TARDIS console: the other 25% by sheer will. His eyes flicked back and forth, and kept straying to the floor, only to snap back up again. There was hesitation before every new thought, almost like he was afraid to speak.

"Now, River, I need you to pay attention to what I say, not how I look. First off, I want to tell you how sorry I am. I've hurt you worse than I thought was possible, and it's not fair. It's really not fair to you, River, and...whatever I went through, now I know that it was so much worse for you. The TARDIS showed me a recording of myself, from an alternate future where you didn't call me to Stormcage that day. I can even sort of remember it. There's a recording for you, too, promising a message from the future."

His legs had been slowly buckling, and now he slipped off the TARDIS console and fell. River tried to catch him, but the image passed right through her hands, and the Doctor grunted in pain as he fell to one knee. He continued like nothing had happened. 

"This is the message. I wish it was more encouraging, but I need to record it while the memories are fresh, so I can't wait until I'm better again. And yes, River, I  _will_ get better. I will recover and if there is a scrap of justice left in this universe, you will too."

He sank down all the way and pulled his knees up to his chest absentmindedly. 

"I did take the liberty of shaving, and cleaning myself up a bit, but there's no way I can appear to be well, and for that, I am truly sorry."

His eyelids drooped, then snapped back up like his eyelashes were attached to springs.

"But it works. That's what matters in the end. We win. That's the outcome, you only have to get there."

River laughed bitterly. They  _win._

"Nothing to worry about now, right Doctor? That's all I care about, we win! Now I just have to go through the motions!"

"That's not what I meant," the hologram replied tiredly.

River jumped.

"I don't know what that was exactly," he explained, "But I can hear you. The TARDIS is letting me hear you."

"What do you think of me?" she seethed. Her voice escalated with each question she asked. "That all I care about is winning? It doesn't matter the cost? You want me to be reassured just because we  _win?_ " 

The Doctor shrank back, wide-eyed. He was staring at the floor, and she remembered that he couldn't see her, only hear her. Shuddering violently, he tried to speak. "I-I-I didn't...p-please don't...R-Riv-River...I'm s-sorry!" 

He clenched his eyes shut and rested his head on his knees as he shook. River was too terrified to speak. 

The Doctor took a deep, unsteady breath and looked up through watery eyes. "R-River, I, er...th-this reaction...I c-can't...I can't control it right now. D-don't worry it will...it'll fade in time, but, right now, can you please not yell?" He seemed to catch himself and squared his jaw. "No, d-don't yell. That's it. I'm not begging you, I'm just telling you. Don't yell. I know that...you care about me and...you w-won't yell anymore because you don't want me to be afraid."

He held his breath and looked around hopefully. 

"Afraid," River repeated silently, struggling to breathe.

"R-River?" he asked uncertainly.

"I'm here, Doctor," she forced herself to say.

He relaxed slightly. "I'm, er, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"S'Okay," she lied.

"And I don't want you to think I was deflecting what you said, because you're right, that came out poorly and-" 

"I didn't think that, sweetie," she interrupted. 

He cringed again, then straightened and cleared his throat. "You m-might also want to avoid cutting me off. I...have certain associations with things now. And," he swallowed, "Just for now, try not to call me s-sweetie." 

River whimpered and his lips tipped up slightly. "I know it's a tall order, but you can do it; I know you can."

She chuckled a little too and the Doctor's expression turned wistful. "I have to say, River, just talking to you like this...it's nice. It's been too long since I could properly talk to anyone. I know it's mad, but, I'm actually really happy right now. I thought I'd lost you, but now I know I haven't. Even if we can't get back to the way things were, it's just good to know that what we had was real. It's good to know that there are heroes, and people who would sacrifice everything for the benefit of others. Earlier today, I would never have imagined I'd be saying this, but...River Song, you're wonderful. So wonderful."

"How can you say that after what's happened to you?" she whispered.

"How can you honestly feel sorry for _me_ after what's happened to  _you?"_ He grimaced suddenly. "I'm going to say a lot of things. Things that will hurt you. There were certain moments when I thought I saw a chink in your armor, or a flash of regret in your eyes. I wrote it off as wishful thinking, but now I know it was you. It was the real you, peeking out from the most terrible mask. A mask that was as painful to wear as it was to regard. It's weird to say I can't take it back when, from your perspective, I probably haven't said it all yet, but I know how badly words can hurt. Oh River, I regret this, but I'm going to hurt you so badly."

His strength was rapidly fading, and the wounds that had been cleaned were bleeding once more. He leaned his head against the console and closed his eyes tiredly.

"You need to get help," River said. 

The Doctor jolted upright at the sound of her voice. "What? Oh! Yes, of course," he slurred sleepily. "Help, I'll go get help. Don't worry River, I'm getting help now." 

The recording cut off and River screamed in frustration. "I can't let that happen," she pleaded with the TARDIS. "I've already hurt him so much, I can't let it get to that."

Another image popped up. The Doctor was once again healthy and confident-looking. He stood there awkwardly for a second, then said, "You'll show this to her after the future message, right?" He waited expectantly, then scoffed and said, "So, whatever Future Me had to say, I hope it was good. Just to cover a few important points, yes, this is the only way. No, there's nothing else you can do. Finally, as always, I forgive you. Whatever you do to me, you haven't done any of it yet, but that doesn't matter because I trust you completely. I would say you deserve forgiveness, but you've done nothing wrong. You're just saving the universe once more...but don't even think about going after my record." He laughed awkwardly and continued, "But seriously. I forgive you. I forgive you. I will say it as many times as you need to hear it." He cocked his head with a hand to his ear; an over-exaggerated pantomime of listening. He gave a goofy grin. "Six more times, you say? Okay." He repeated the phrase "I forgive you" six times and then laughed at himself.  "I...don't know what else I can do to convey that message. So, I guess, good luck. Remember what you're fighting for."

The image faded and River stared numbly ahead. "I can do this," she assured herself out loud. "I can do it. I just have to remember what the Doctor told me."

She let her mind disassociate itself from her surroundings, carefully gathering all her love for the Doctor, all of her sympathy and knowledge of right and wrong and tucking it away. Very, very far away.

**

The Doctor struggled against the Angels as they forced him back into the cell. He didn't actually think he could get away, but it was the principle of the thing. He was forced down onto the chair and the Angels left him to slump in relief. After a few moments, Restac called, "All clear!" and the room filled with sounds of activity.

The hood was ripped violently from his head. Restac grinned down at him savagely. "It didn't take much for you to scream."

"Pain hurts," he informed her. "I see nothing wrong with admitting that."

"And beg," she added, drawing the word out joyfully.

"Shut up," he scowled.

Her hand wrapped around his throat, but didn't squeeze. "I am a respected Silurian warrior. That is not how you address one of my status."

"You're disgraced! A prisoner! You have no status!" he spat venomously.

The Silurian's eyes narrowed as she applied pressure to his windpipe. "Of the two of us," she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Who looks more like a prisoner?" 

Her grip tightened for a painful second and then she let him go. "I have heard that it is nearly impossible to effectively strangle a Time Lord. I look forward to testing that out."

"Leave me alone!" the Doctor breathed.

"Someone has to guard you until River returns," she said smugly.

"Not _you_ ," he growled.

"Perhaps you'd prefer the company of a Sontaran? Or a Dalek?" she teased.

"Yes!" the Doctor gasped. "The Dalek! I want the Dalek!" 

She gave him an incredulous gaze, then yelled, "Dalek!"

From across the room, Dalek hollered, "What? What do you waaaant? Speak! Speeeeeaaak!"

"It seems the Doctor would prefer your company to mine," she told him.

"I will guard the Doctor!" it agreed enthusiastically. "He will not escaaaape!"

The Doctor remained quiet as the Dalek rolled up. Then he turned to Restac and said coldly, "You've been relieved of guard duty."

She hissed, but seemed happy to leave him at the mercy of Dalek.

"Hello," he tried once she was gone.

"DO NOT SPEAK! SILENCE! SILEEENNNCE!" Dalek yowled. The Doctor closed his mouth as Dalek declared to the room at large that it wanted the Doctor to be quiet; it was not trying to actually call the Silence. Several chittering silhouettes receded back into the crowd.

After a few seconds, Dalek asked, "What do you want?" 

"I thought I was supposed to be quiet?" he countered.

"You will resume your previous statement! Obey!" 

"All I said was 'hello,'" the Doctor said calmly.

"You want something. Whaaat?" 

"I do have a question for you," he answered tentatively.

"DALEKS DO NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS!" Dalek snapped. After another tense silence, it demanded, "You will ask your question. Aaaaask!"

"How do you know me?"

"Every Dalek knows of the Doctor," the tin can announced haughtily.

"No, actually. You're the only one," the Doctor replied carefully.

"Not possible!" Dalek screeched.

"It's true. I erased all records of myself.  
You shouldn't know me," he persisted.

"Liiiiieees!"

"It's true, really! When did you last update your data banks?" The Doctor sensed he was onto something important.

"Todaaaay," Dalek proclaimed.

"How?"

"I downloaded information directly from the prison seeeerver." Dalek turned around, apparently done with their conversation. 

The Doctor thought over this new bit of information. Someone at Stormcage was _very_ good with computers. He had a feeling that would come in handy. 

For eight deceptively calm minutes, nobody bothered the Doctor. Dalek simply stood beside him, not acknowledging him except for twice. The first time was when the Doctor asked what was happening, and got the response, "The prisoner will not speak unless spoken to!"

The second was when he shifted slightly in the uncomfortable chair and Dalek whirled to face him, weapons raised. The Doctor froze so completely that he didn't even breathe, and Dalek slowly relaxed again. Unable to help it as time ticked by, the Doctor found his guard lowering slightly. Soon enough, though, River slammed through the door like a bull through a red cape, and the Doctor found himself tensing once more, which in turn caused Dalek to point its weapons at him again.

River had an undefinable expression on her face as she saw the Doctor cowering away from Dalek weaponry. Then, she laughed. "You always were so  _afraid_ of them. It's pathetic!"

"Fancy a trip to the library?" he retorted, then grimaced in disgust at his own words. 

"Come again?" River asked airily, because how was she to know the true, sickening meaning behind that question?

The Doctor said nothing. 

"Are you giving me the silent treatment?" River asked. "That is just delightfully ironic! You're excused, Dalek."

The Dalek whirred away. "Well, sweetie," River began, and he twitched angrily at the pet name. "Now that we're living together, I think we should establish some ground rules."

**

"The Doctor used the TARDIS to send the virus that hacked the system that found the number that you needed to call?" Jack tried to summarize.  
"Are you Jewish?" Clara asked abruptly.

"No, why?"

"That kind of reminded me of a Jewish folk song*," she teased.

"Whatever. There's only one thing to do now," Jack said glumly.

"And what's that?" Clara challenged.

Jack threw up his hands in exasperation. "I guess we have to go find the TARDIS."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * If you are curious, look up the lyrics to "Chad Gadya" (it's easy find the English translation) and read. If, when you reach the end, you think, "That escalated quickly," you've got the right song.


	8. To Tea or Not to Tea

Clara zoomed in on River Song's cell. "It's not finding the TARDIS that I'm worried about." Jack squinted at the monitor.

"Why are all those numbers going crazy like that?" 

Clara rolled her eyes. "Well, it starts with a 'T' and ends with an 'ARDIS'."

"Don't get smart with me," Jack sassed. 

"Actually, I've always been smart," she retorted absentmindedly. "Hang on...the anomalous readings aren't just coming from the TARDIS. They're also coming from...her cell?"

"I got this!" Jack announced confidently. "The cell must contain Time Lord technology." 

"Very good," Clara praised in a tone that may or may not have been patronizing. "Which solves the mystery of where all the prisoners got to. They must be in the cell."

"Bigger on the inside!" 

"Exactly," she said with no small measure of satisfaction.

"So, to recap, the Doctor is locked in a cell of unknown dimensions containing an unknown number of violent convicts?" he frowned.

Clara's expression fell. "You don't half know how to ruin a good mood, I'll give you that."

"I'm just saying, it's nice that we figured something out and all, but we haven't actually done anything to help him yet."

Clara sighed. "I guess it's time to bring this to the boss."

*****

The Doctor had not expected to be led away from the front of the cell, down the hallway and into some sort of private dining room, nor did he expect to be uncuffed and given a cup of tea upon arrival. As River took a seat across from him, the Doctor appraised his mug. He had never been one to refuse tea in the past, however, the circumstances were rather suspect. Tea did sound nice. And it was probably safe. Most likely. The chances were 50/50. Well maybe a little more like 60/40. There was definitely probably a good 30% chance the tea was safe. No less than a 20% chance. He put it to himself another way. Of the two things present, tea and River, he trusted the tea more than River. Course he hadn't exactly wanted to drink River, so perhaps she wasn't a very good basis for comparison.

Her lips twitched. "Oh, just drink it, you look about as defiant as a Tivolian."

The Doctor frowned at her and sipped daintily at the tea. He pulled back the mug, squinted at it, sniffed it a bit, licked his finger and put it in the air to test for a draft, and then downed the rest of the tea in a few big gulps.

River waited for him to pour another cup and take a sip before she announced, "We want the TARDIS."

The Doctor nodded as though it were a perfectly reasonable request and swallowed a mouthful of tea. He then proceeded to take another sip, swish it around thoughtfully, finally process what she had said, and promptly spit the tea back into the cup so he could ask, "What?"

"You heard me," she replied. "We are the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. All of space isn't enough to hide us. But all of time and space might be. So, the deal is simple: you pilot the TARDIS and drop us all off where we want to go, and you're free."

"No!" he raged. "You can't-you can't use the TARDIS like that! It's sacrilege!"

River raised an eyebrow in amusement. Gallifreyan was especially hard to translate, which meant that sometimes the Doctor had trouble conveying particular ideas. Gallifrey didn't have a religion, but they did have certain unspoken laws; beliefs as old and as deeply ingrained as religion. So perhaps "sacrilege" was an appropriate word to use.

"You can use the TARDIS that way. And you will."

"Why can't you just do it?" he asked with disdain. 

"She won't let me fly her anymore. Won't even open her doors for any of the others."

"Hah! Good! Well good luck getting me to open them! I'm not doing it," he insisted.

"Either you tell the TARDIS to open up, or we keep you until it does so of its own accord," she said lightly.

The Doctor shuddered. She hadn't used words like "hurt" or "torture" but he could sense the implications behind her words. He abruptly rose from his seat. "We have nothing further to discuss, Doctor Song."

"Oh, but we haven't even gone over the rules yet," she said playfully.

"So do it, then!" he snapped.

River glared and said, "Don't show disrespect."

"You betrayed me, River, I can't respect that!"

"These rules don't just apply to me, Doctor. There are over 1,000 convicts out there, some of them sadistic, and some of them just plain mad. You're a valuable hostage, but that alone can't guarantee your safety. If you set someone off, I might not be able to stop them from hurting you," she expounded.

For once, the Doctor held his tongue. River smiled at his pointed silence and continued, "Don't try to sabotage us in any way. Don't attempt to communicate with anyone outside this cell. Obey orders immediately and totally. Above all, do not struggle or attempt to escape." 

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm gonna struggle and try to escape, that's what people DO when they're kidnapped."

"Doctor," River intoned. "This will be your only warning."

He gritted his teeth. "You won't win. I won't-"

"Don't show disrespect!" River interrupted, and then the screwdriver buzzed and the Doctor screamed in agony.

A few minutes later, he came back to his senses and looked up from where he had collapsed on the floor. River was standing over him, roughly yanking his hands back into the cuffs. "So this is...ah!" he cried as she snapped the cuffs closed, painfully tight. "This is...how it's going to be, is it?"

River stroked his hair out of his eyes so she could stare into them. "That, sweetie, is entirely up to you."

*****

When Clara returned to the makeshift camp the guards had set up on the top level of the prison, she was prepared to explain her extended absence, endure a lecture, and fight to get a word in edgewise. She was, therefore, extremely surprised when Edgar greeted her with a "Lieutenant Oswin. Good. I've been meaning to talk with you."

"You have?" she asked uncertainly. 

"Yes, I wanted to discuss the...dynamic between the two of us. I think a bit more respect is necessary on both our parts. I've been disregarding you due to your age, and you've been rebellious due to my attitude."

Clara gaped at him. "Sorry, did you actually just say that?"

Edgar chuckled lightly. "Running a prison is a very serious business, and doing so has caused me to be rather uptight. The Doctor actually mentioned that I ought to give you a little more credit, and I figured that if he can concern himself with such a thing whilst being held hostage by the universe's most dangerous criminals, I can't very well ignore it just because I'm busy."

"Well," she replied, unsure whether to feel smug or appreciative. "It seems I've misjudged you. At least you can admit your mistakes."

Edgar nodded pointedly and shifted back into business mode. He gestured at Jack. "Who is this?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack and Clara said at the same time .

Jack started to say, "And who are you?" but Clara cut him off.

"Captain Harkness and I would like to fill you in on some things we discovered."

Edgar was obviously puzzled as to where Jack came from, but he gestured for her to go on.

*****

The cyborg dutifully helped plan the next phase of the escape. He wasn't overly concerned with the actual getaway. In fact, his only real concern was destroying the Doctor.

"Dr. Simeon?" one of his fellow convicts demanded his attention. 

"What is it?" he snapped.

"We need your computer programme."

Simeon smiled. "The Great Intelligence is at your disposal."


	9. Code to Joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this chapter's pretty boring...I promise the next one will have plenty of action. Also, yes, the computer talk is all made up and total B.S. No shame.

Edgar was surprisingly open-minded throughout their story. Apparently, all this Doctor business had given him new motive to better himself. Clara only hoped this attitude would last.

After another second, she mentally berated herself for being concerned with petty workplace problems when she needed to stay focused in order to help the Doctor.

She tuned back in to the conversation just in time to hear Jack say, "And since this type of thing tends to be important in these situations, I'm gonna give you a heads up: I can't die."

Edward's skeptical side made a reappearance. "You can't be serious."

"Well, okay, I CAN die," Jack amended, "Actually, I do it a lot. You could almost consider it a hobby. But the point is that yes, I can die, but it just doesn't seem to stick, you know?"

Edgar shook his head slowly. "No. I do not know. I have no idea."

Jack shrugged helplessly and made a noise of resignation.

Suddenly, the room lit up and various machines whirred to life. Officers slowly turned off their torches and glanced about bemusedly. 

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE!" Edgar bellowed into a megaphone that Clara swore he hadn't had a second ago, "THE POWER'S BACK ON! WE MUST ASSUME THAT THE PRISONERS TURNED IT ON FOR A REASON! I WANT GUARDS POSTED AT ALL THE LIFTS, A GROUP MONITORING COMMUNICATIONS, AND SOMEONE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE SECURITY FEEDS! THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE, YOU LOT, GO, GO, GO!"

Once the soldiers were busy with their various tasks, Edgar turned to address Clara. "As for you, Lieutenant Oswin, and your...friend, come with me."

"Where are we going?" she asked, quickly shuffling to keep up with his long, brisk strides. 

"The main computer has been compromised. I believe your skills are about to be put to the test."

*****

Once the Doctor was again restrained, River hauled him up by the arms. He yanked himself out of her grip with enough force to throw her to the floor. Landing on one knee, River rolled gracefully into a half crouch and struck him on the shoulder, hitting a Gallifreyan pressure point. The Doctor went limp with pain and River took the opportunity to drag him the rest of the way out of the room.

Restac waited outside, looking anxious. "Did he agree?"

"No," River sighed. "He's never been one for doing things the easy way."

The Silurian looked pleased. "So, we must torture him!"

The Doctor shook his head and tried to pull away. "I suppose we must. Nothing too permanent for now," River conceded. "I'm going to go check on the cyborg's progress."

Restac grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy this, Time Lord."

"River," he cried hopelessly, watching his wife's retreat down the hall, "Please, don't do this! What did I ever do to deserve this? River!"

She didn't even glance over her shoulder. "Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening!" he shouted as she turned the corner.

Restac's cold, reptilian hand sunk into his shoulder. "She's not being squeamish, you know. She's just busy. It really is a shame that she's going to miss the fun part." She paused like she had an idea. "Maybe I can make you scream loud enough for her to hear! What do you think?"

"I think," the Doctor growled slowly and deliberately, "That you are one of the most pathetic creatures I've ever laid eyes upon. I think that Stormcage is too good for scum like you."

The criminal snarled and shoved him roughly into a wall. Unable to catch himself in time, the Doctor winced as his head slammed against stone. Restac stood behind him, pushing on his shoulders with such force that he thought she was going to shove him straight through the wall. He turned his head to the side and wheezed breathlessly. For a moment, they were frozen in that tableau as the Silurian slowly released her grip and evened out her breathing.

The Doctor coughed a few times, then breathed, "Well, so much for discreet." He glanced upwards, silently referring to the large cut on his head, which was bleeding quite steadily. As blood continued to pour out of the head wound and trace down his cheek like a caress, the Time Lord gave a mad laugh. "Looks like you've already let down your end of the bargain. Or did you forget that the point of taking a hostage is to negotiate?"

"As long as you live, they'll continue to bargain. A few scratches change nothing."

The Doctor shuddered violently when Restac licked the blood off his face with her forked tongue and mulled over the taste. "Definitely different than ape blood, but tasty nonetheless."

"Rule 74 of the Shadow Proclamation clearly states that prisoners may not be eaten during a negotiation period," he reminded her.

"I don't care for your Shadow Proclamation," she sneered, but she backed down nonetheless.

*****

"How are we doing?" River asked the mechanical man who was bustling about the computer room. 

"We should have full power shortly," the cyborg replied smugly.

"Good. And the precautions are in place?" she pressed.

"All of the alarms have been subverted and the lifts must be triggered from here. They won't be coming down in those."

"Excellent job, Dr. Simeon," River congratulated stiffly.

"Dr. Simeon was merely a man. I have elevated myself above that moniker. I am now the Great Intelligence!" came the haughty reply. 

"But I thought your computer programme was called Great Intelligence," she pointed out.

"I am part of my programme and my programme is part of me!" crowed the cyborg.

"Right, that clears it up," River said sarcastically. "Well...keep up the good work!"

The Great Intelligence caught her as she tried to leave. "And what of the Doctor?"

"He's with Restac," River replied stiffly.

"Good, that's good. Perhaps this plan of yours will work after all. You're a smart woman, Dr. Song."

River shrugged. "You're the one who came up with the escape plan. I just refined it."

The cyborg squinted at her curiously. "I don't suppose you'd care to reveal how you knew about my plans."

River winked. "A girl's got to have her secrets."

"Yes," the Great Intelligence murmured. "I hope for your sake, Doctor Song, that yours is not detrimental to our efforts."

"If I didn't want you to escape, I would have simply reported you, not improved your plans just to sabotage them."

"Of course," the cyborg replied mechanically. "That would be ridiculous."

River laughed slightly. 

"Your suggestion to take the Doctor hostage was inspired," he continued. "Although I can't say I am concerned with preventing loss of life, as you seen to be."

"Remember, the more we kill, the more they'll want us. All of time and space is an excellent hiding place, but nothing can escape the wrath of a grieving loved one."

"Good thing the Doctor has none," intoned the cyborg. 

"Why's that?" River asked casually.

"Because, once he lets us in the TARDIS, I will kill him. You can pilot it, can't you, Dr. Song? We won't need him once he lets us in."

"Oh, of course," River answered dazedly. "That makes sense."

*****

Jack had grown so used to the sound of typing, he actually jumped when it was stopped and replaced with a voice. "I've hit a wall," Clara declared. 

"So hack it or whatever," he answered.

"That's what I've been doing!" she hissed. "I've reached the base code, but it's in a language I can't translate. It's all circles!" She pushed away in frustration spinning to face Jack with her hands running through her hair. "My translation software has never failed before!"

"Wait, circles?" Jack realized suddenly.

"Take a look," Clara groaned, and blew up the screen to focus in on one symbol. 

"That's Gallifreyan!" Jack realized excitedly. "It doesn't translate!" 

"That doesn't make sense, how can there be a language that doesn't translate?" Clara snapped. 

"What is Gallifreyan doing in the system?" Jack wanted to know.

Edgar shrugged helplessly.

"It's a hidden subroutine within the hostile programme," she expounded. "It's like someone hacked it. I've never seen something like this."

"Wait, so someone hacked the hacker?"

Clara stopped scrolling across the screen as she came to a blank space between the circles. "A Trojan horse," she whispered. "It looks like just extra bits of code in the programme, but if I put something here, it would link the sequence."

"Then what?" 

"I don't know," she admitted.

"Well," Jack began slowly, "Whoever is hacking our system is a bad guy. So if someone's hacking HIM, they're probably a good guy. I say we link it."

"I would if I could," Clara explained miserably. "But I can't speak the language."

"Whoever did this must want to help us, right?" Jack began.

"Not necessarily-"

Jack cut her off. "There's an Old Earth expression: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' I think it applies here. Anyway, they had to know that we have no way of translating Gallifreyan, so maybe they want us to link the code in English."

Clara frowned. "Maybe. But once we activate it, it will,be easy to track."

"But they couldn't shut it down unless they knew Gallifreyan," Jack smiled. "None of the prisoners are Time Lords, are they?" 

Clara looked to Edgar. "River Song has a Time Lord's biology, but that was engineered into her. She never lived on Gallifrey."

Jack grinned. "None of then can shut it down."

"I hate to ruin your plan, but they'd probably just force the Doctor to translate." Clara sighed.

"What if that's the point?" Jack asked, growing excited. "What if this programme doesn't do anything, it's just meant to tip off the Doctor that he's got people looking for him. Maybe the Gallifreyan is like a message!"

Clara shook her head. "It'll be nonsense. You can't just type a paragraph and turn it into a programme. The only letters that might have meaning to him would be the four in the encryption key."

"The prescription what?" Edgar inquired.

"Encryption key. A sort of password. If I fill in the correct password, the dormant code activates."

"So, we need a four-letter password that will somehow communicate to the Doctor that we're trying to help him?"

"He knows we're trying to help him!" Clara scoffed. "What he doesn't know is that Jack's here, and considering the TARDIS called Jack, I'm assuming his presence is important." Clara rubbed her eyes tiredly as she finished her speech.

She halfheartedly typed in "Jack," but nothing happened. "Too obvious," put in Edgar.

Jack had been swirling all the pieces around in his brain until, finally, he smacked himself on the head. A four letter code word between himself and the Doctor? Duh! Jack leapt up and typed in his four letters. The words began racing across the screen in a blur. Clara looked stunned. "You activated it!"

*****

The Great Intelligence growled at his computer screen. Strange, circular symbols were popping up, blocking his view and clouding his mind. "WHAT IS THIS?" he bellowed.

"It looked like Gallifreyan," River said, careful to keep the wistful tone from her voice. 

"What does it say?" 

"I'm not fluent." It was a lie, she was completely fluent and it was total gibberish, but she knew this must be somehow important to the Doctor. "The Doctor is. I'll get him."

The cyborg hummed with discontent as he waited for her to return, which she eventually did, propelling along a very dazed-looking Doctor. The Great Intelligence pulled up a chair and she plopped him into it. "Translate."

"Wha?"

"It's Gallifreyan. Translate."

He blinked a few times, wiped some blood from his face, looked at it in alarm, then wiped it on the cyborg, who snarled. "Translate!"

"River speaks Gallifreyan," he argued defiantly.

River tensed, but forced herself to maintain a casual tone. "Not very well, apparently. That all looks like nonsense to me."

"It is nonsense, it's computer code!" snapped the Doctor.

"Get it off of my screen," the Great Intelligence demanded, wanting nothing more than to snap his neck right then. 

"Why should I?"

River brandished the screwdriver wearily. 

"That's a good reason," the Time Lord concluded. "Alright, well I can't say this is any less fun than what I was doing previously. I'll give it a looksie, shall I?" He began scrolling through the code, stopping when he saw a break in the pattern. He snatched his hand back and gazed at the screen with something akin to wonder. 

"What's English doing in there?"

"Encryption key," the Doctor answered absently, then shook himself. "I'll, ah, I'll need some time to untangle this coding." 

"You have one hour," the cyborg announced. "I will address some other work I must see to." 

*****

The Doctor didn't even register the departure of the cyborg. He was too busy gaping up at the screen.

"Doctor?" River prodded.

"Right, sorry. I'm just, er, considering my approach."

With shaking hands, he highlighted the word on the screen, sure that it couldn't be a coincidence. "There's probably some significance to that word," he explained as casually as possible.

"It isn't even a real word!" River grumped.

"That doesn't make it insignificant."

"That's not what I meant," she amended. 

"What did you mean, River? I do so care about your opinion," he monotoned coldly.

Ignoring his tone, she said, "You didn't call it a password, you called it a word. Which suggests that you already had it in your vocabulary."

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed. 

"It seems to me that someone is trying to get a message to you."

"And what is the message, pray tell?" 

"Well, apparently," she tapped the screen. "The message is YANA."


	10. Strong

"What's YANA?" River pressed.

The Doctor gave a small shrug. "I dunno. Could be an acronym of some sort. 'Years Ago Nobody Argued?' Or maybe 'Yaks Are Notoriously Ambivalent.' Something meaningful like that."

"Someone's peppy," River observed. Though she tried to sound suspicious, she was secretly pleased to see his mood so restored. His apparent apathy when he had come into the room worried her. She was glad he hadn't given up after all.

"Well, I just got out of being tortured. That does wonders for the temperament."

"You're supposed to be getting rid of these symbols," River reminded him.

"Right. Well, I'll need to know what the programme does in order to restore it," the Doctor asserted hopefully.

"For now, all it needs to do is control the prison's electricity."

"What about for later?" he prodded.

"None of your concern," snapped his wife, effectively ending the conversation.

The Doctor gave it a few minutes before attempting more conversation. "Who is the man who created this programme?"

River considered her answer carefully. "I wouldn't say he _is_ a man. At least, not any more. But he is the mastermind behind the breakout."

"I thought that was you," he challenged, repeatedly tapping on a completely random key.

"I contributed a little, sure. The cyborg's original plan was just to slaughter everyone here and make our escape with the prison ships. It was my idea to bring you and the TARDIS into play."

Having accidentally started a game of pinball, the Doctor began testing the controls as he muttered, "Thanks, I really owe you for that one."

She smacked him on the back of the head, causing him to lose his game. "Focus!"

The Doctor sighed and fiddled around a bit before finally saying, "Can't you just sonic it?"

River rolled her eyes, changed the setting on the screwdriver, and zapped the code from the screen. "You couldn't have said that sooner?"

"Oh, yes, forgive me. Why ever would I want to stall?" The Doctor responded sarcastically.

*****

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Clara muttered as the code disappeared from the screen.

"No, it was perfect. The Doctor knows now." Jack smiled triumphantly.

"How?" the lieutenant inquired.

"YANA. It stands for 'You Are Not Alone,' and is a very significant phrase to the two of us," elaborated Jack.

The computer chimed and Clara jumped.

"What was that?" Edgar asked, pointing his gigantic gun at the computer.

Clara eyed the weapon nervously and slowly pushed the barrel down to face the floor. "It's Lucky. One of the words has been translated."

"What words?" grumbled the warden.

Jack shushed him and mouthed "watch."

Lucky came back on the screen and the looped video of River began playing, with another word added to the subtitles at the bottom. "So something, so strong, and so very, very far away?" Clara read.

"So we only need one more word!" Jack cheered.

"For what?" Edgar chimed in, annoyed that he was so out of the loop.

"We believe that Dr. Song is saying something significant. It's mainly a hunch that Jack had, but the more I watch her face as she speaks, the more convinced I am that this phrase means something to her." explained Clara.

Edgar sighed. "I'm not trying to sound dismissive of your intellect, lieutenant, but aren't there better things you could be doing than playing charades?"

"Actually, we'd be disqualified if we were playing charades. You're not allowed to mouth the words," Jack supplied helpfully.

Edgar gave him a dull look until Clara said, "In the meantime, there is something we need to do. We need to get to the TARDIS."

"You want to walk in plain view of their cell and attempt to access the very thing that the prisoners need?" Edgar outlined slowly, as if sure that when he put it this way, Clara would back down.

Jack and Clara shared a look. "Yes," she said. "That's exactly what we want."

Edgar rubbed his head in frustration. "You'll have to go alone and unofficially. If you get caught, you must pretend that you are acting entirely on your own and without my knowledge."

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Clara answered cheerfully, already halfway out the room.

"What do you mean, not the first time?" the warden exclaimed, but the Captain and Lieutenant had already left the room.

*****

"Look at me." River commanded suddenly.

"Why?" her prisoner sullenly demanded.

"Let me see your face," she said more forcefully.

The Doctor sighed and raised his eyes to meet her own. River put a hand under his chin and turned his head to the side.

"What am I, a racehorse?" he growled in annoyance.

River considered making a joke involving the word "stud" but decided that now was not the time. "Your face is looking a bit worse for wear," she commented, mentally comparing it to the face of the future Doctor she had seen. The scrapes and bruises on his face seemed to form a familiar pattern, and she wondered whether she could use the Doctor's injuries to determine how close this ordeal was to ending.

This morbid train of thought was interrupted by another snarky reply that she didn't bother listening to.

"Come on," she said, dragging him by the arm. "Back to our regularly scheduled programming."

"I was rather enjoying the commercial break," the Doctor retorted as he allowed her to bring him back into the hallway.

Just then, the two Time Lords shuddered. There it was again.

_Something's here that shouldn't be. It hurts. It burns._

They snapped out of their mutual trance when they heard a commotion ahead of them. River quickly hailed the Doctor through the twisting hallway and back to the main area at the front of the cell, where Dalek was screeching "Lift four is descending!"

"We should still have control over the lifts!" River scowled.

"I believe that Stormcage's resident computer expert is giving you a run for your money," observed the Doctor gleefully.

"They think they can sneak up on us?" River demanded, internally panicking. Who was in the lift? What did they want? They couldn't rescue the Doctor yet, her mission wasn't complete! Would she have to let the occupants of the lift be killed?

Restac came up behind her. "We should have known better than to trust the word of these lying humans! Now they'll see what happens when they take action against us!"

"Wait," River replied, trying to find a reason to not allow the newcomers to be killed on sight. "We don't know that they're hostile. They're violating our agreement by coming to this floor, but they might have something important to say."

Restac scoffed as she drew her weapon. "Fine. We shall see what they have to say. But if they fail to impress, I want the pleasure of killing them."

"It's yours," River said. "Let's go out and meet them." She beckoned for Dalek, Splix, and Restac to follow her.

"You're not taking him?" asked the Silurian, gesturing at the Doctor.

River hesitated. Taking him wasn't the smartest strategic move, but the leaving the Doctor with the other convicts during such a pivotal moment was out of the question. The presence of intruders could drive the more unstable ones to hurt or kill him. "He's coming," she finally announced. "If they are planning an attack, it'll be good to have leverage."

"Just keep him well secured," Restac sneered.

River glared at the commanding tone of voice Restac had employed. "Do try and remember that I am the one in charge here."

The Silurian smiled sweetly. "Only so long as we feel you are making smart decisions." She did not wait for River to respond as she led the way out of the cell.

River cursed. Her control was slipping. She had to be careful.

Quickly, she grabbed a blindfold and secured it around his eyes. The Doctor remained stoic as she once again cuffed his hands together and led him from the cell.

*****

"So remind me why we didn't take the stairs?" Jack demanded as the elevator continued its slow descent.

"Because they might not have noticed us," Clara answered.

"Wouldn't that have been a good thing?"

The lieutenant shook her head. "There's no way to reach the TARDIS without being noticed. It's just a question of when. We come down on the lift and they're expecting us. We sneak down the stairs and they might shoot us on reflex."

"Whatever you say," he replied, surreptitiously moving to stand in front of her as they neared the bottom floor.

"Don't bother," she told him. "If they want to kill me, I'll be dead."

"Still, you could let a guy be chivalrous," Jack complained.

They both took a deep breath as the doors slid open.

In his head, Jack had pictured a thousand-man army, bristling with weapons. Instead, their reception committee consisted of a Dalek, a Sontaran, a Silurian, River and...the Doctor. "Doc!" He called, feeling the uncontrollable urge to run to the man.

The Silurian's weapon poked at his gut, stopping him in his tracks.

"Jack?" the Time Lord perked up. "It really is __you _?"___

Before Jack had a chance to respond, Dr. Song shook the Doctor and snarled "shut up."

He bared his teeth in frustration but didn't say anything else. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with that stupid cloth over his face. River turned to address Jack. "It's you. You're what I've been feeling."

"Excuse me?"

River backed up a few steps. "What are you? What are you doing to time?"

"Jack's a-" the Doctor began, but Dr. Song cut him off by elbowing him in the stomach.

The Doctor gasped and River hissed, "I was asking him."

Jack glared at her as he explained, "I'm a fixed point in time. It's a long story."

"The temporal disturbance really is something, isn't it?" Piped up the Doctor.

He got a slap to the face for his troubles. "Next time you speak I'm bringing out the screwdriver," warned his captor.

Jack surged forward as Clara yelled, "Stop hurting him!"

Their struggles were halted when the Doctor turned his face in their direction and grimly shook his head.

"What are you here for?" The Silurian demanded.

"Uhhhhhhh...health inspection?" Clara replied.

"Try again. And this time you'd better have a damn good reason for why you broke our agreement."

"We came here on our own!" She blurted. "The warden has no idea!"

Picking up where she left off, Jack continued. "We just came so that...I could offer you...my vortex manipulator!"

"What?" demanded Clara.

The Doctor made his best incredulous face.

"Yeah," Jack bluffed. "We knew you wanted time travel, so we came to offer you a vortex manipulator in exchange for the Doctor."

Said Time Lord opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once again when River prodded his ribs with the screwdriver.

"A vortex manipulator can only work on one person. It's hardly a solution to our problem."

"That's a shame," Clara cut in. "We didn't think of that."

"Ridiculous apes," the Silurian sneered, backing up a few steps until she was in line with the Dalek and the Sontaran.

Jack knew he wouldn't get a better opportunity. "Clara, now!" he yelled as he charged at the Silurian. He managed to bowl her over into the Sontaran, blocking his weapon. The Dalek had pivoted towards Clara, who was making a run for the TARDIS. Jack dove in front of the blast, and as his vision faded he saw Clara pounding on the TARDIS door. The last thought he had as he died was that for some reason the TARDIS must not like her either. It wasn't going to let her in.


End file.
